The in-charge of crime branch (Unit VIII), Ravindra Salunkhe, said the boy told them that the girl was staying in a nearby flat in the Cheetah Camp area of Trombay. A 16-year-old girl from Sweden who flew down to India after befriending an 18-year-old Chembur resident on Instagram was reunited with her family, thanks to the efforts of Mumbai Police. The girl had left her country without informing her parents.
DCP (crime) Neelotpal said they learnt on December 4 that the girl visited the Mumbai International airport after she had gone missing from her residence in Sweden on November 27. The information was received on the basis of a yellow corner notice issued by Swedish police.
Mumbai Police were informed by their Swedish counterparts that the girl had befriended a Mumbai boy on social media. The crime branch of Mumbai Police then tracked down the boy.
The in-charge of crime branch (Unit VIII), Ravindra Salunkhe, said the boy told them that the girl was staying in a nearby flat in the Cheetah Camp area of Trombay. A police team then found the girl and sent her to the Children Welfare Committee. The Swedish embassy was also informed about the girl.
The girl’s father then came to India and he was reunited with his daughter. The father-daughter duo flew back to Sweden on Saturday. Salunkhe said that the 18-year-old boy is a student and he did not intend to harm the girl.
“They had been chatting, speaking online and on video calls over the past few months. The girl then wanted to meet him and hence she flew down to Mumbai. In Sweden, those above the age of 15 can travel alone internationally and hence she did not have any problem in coming to India,” the officer said.
The girl’s father later took to twitter to thank Mumbai Police for cracking the case.
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